(1)
"Address" has the same
meaning as in section
3517.10 of the Revised Code.

(2)
"Broadcast, cable, or satellite
communication" means a communication that is publicly distributed by a
television station, radio station, cable television system, or satellite
system.

(3)
"Candidate" has the
same meaning as in section
3501.01 of the Revised Code;

(4)
"Contribution" means any loan,
gift, deposit, forgiveness of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or
transfer of funds or of anything of value, including a transfer of funds from
an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the payment by
any person other than the person to whom the services are rendered for the
personal services of another person, that is made, received, or used to pay the
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering communications.

(a)
"Coordinated electioneering communication" means any electioneering
communication that is made pursuant to any arrangement, coordination, or
direction by a candidate or a candidate's campaign committee, by an officer,
agent, employee, or consultant of a candidate or a candidate's campaign
committee, or by a former officer, former agent, former employee, or former
consultant of a candidate or a candidate's campaign committee prior to the
airing, broadcasting, or cablecasting of the communication. An electioneering
communication is presumed to be a "coordinated electioneering communication"
when it is either of the following:

(i)
Based
on information about a candidate's plans, projects, or needs provided to the
person making the disbursement by the candidate or the candidate's campaign
committee, by an officer, agent, employee, or consultant of the candidate or
the candidate's campaign committee, or by a former officer, former agent,
former employee, or former consultant of the candidate or the candidate's
campaign committee, with a view toward having the communication made;

(ii)
Made by or through any person
who is, or has been, authorized to raise or expend funds on behalf of a
candidate or the candidate's campaign committee, who is, or has been, an
officer, agent, employee, or consultant of the candidate or of the candidate's
campaign committee, or who is, or has been, receiving any form of compensation
or reimbursement from the candidate or the candidate's campaign committee or
from an officer, agent, employee, or consultant of the candidate or of the
candidate's campaign committee.

(b)
An electioneering communication shall not
be presumed to be a "coordinated electioneering communication" under division
(A)(5)(a)(ii) of this section if the communication is made through any person
who provides a service that does not affect the content of the communication,
such as communications placed through the efforts of a media buyer, unless that
person also affects the content of the communication.

(a)
The first date during any
calendar year by which a person makes disbursements for the direct costs of
producing or airing electioneering communications aggregating in excess of ten
thousand dollars;

(b)
The same day
of the week of each remaining week in the same calendar year as the day of the
week of the initial disclosure date established under division (A)(6)(a) of
this section, if, during that remaining week, the person makes disbursements
for the direct costs of producing or airing electioneering communications
aggregating in excess of one dollar.

(a)
"Electioneering communication" means any broadcast, cable, or satellite
communication that refers to a clearly identified candidate and that is made
during either of the following periods of time:

(i)
If the person becomes a candidate before
the day of the primary election at which candidates will be nominated for
election to that office, between the date that the person becomes a candidate
and the thirtieth day prior to that primary election, and between the date of
the primary election and the thirtieth day prior to the general election at
which a candidate will be elected to that office;

(ii)
If the person becomes a candidate after
the day of the primary election at which candidates were nominated for election
to that office, between the date of the primary election and the thirtieth day
prior to the general election at which a candidate will be elected to that
office.

(b)
"Electioneering communication" does not include any of the following:

(i)
A communication that is publicly
disseminated through a means of communication other than a broadcast, cable, or
satellite television or radio station. For example, "electioneering
communication" does not include communications appearing in print media,
including a newspaper or magazine, handbill, brochure, bumper sticker, yard
sign, poster, billboard, and other written materials, including mailings;
communications over the internet, including electronic mail; or telephone
communications.

(ii)
A
communication that appears in a news story, commentary, public service
announcement, bona fide news programming, or editorial distributed through the
facilities of any broadcast, cable, or satellite television or radio station,
unless those facilities are owned or controlled by any political party,
political committee, or candidate;

(iii)
A communication that constitutes an
expenditure or an independent expenditure under section
3517.01 of the Revised Code;

(iv)
A communication that
constitutes a candidate debate or forum or that solely promotes a candidate
debate or forum and is made by or on behalf of the person sponsoring the debate
or forum.

(8)
"Filing date" has the same meaning as in section
3517.109 of the Revised Code.

(a)
Any committee, club,
association, or other group of persons that receives contributions aggregating
in excess of one thousand dollars during a calendar year or that makes
expenditures aggregating in excess of one thousand dollars during a calendar
year;

(13)
"Refers to a clearly identified
candidate" means that the candidate's name, nickname, photograph, or drawing
appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent through an
unambiguous reference to the person such as "the chief justice," "the
governor," "member of the Ohio senate," "member of the Ohio house of
representatives," "county auditor," "mayor," or "township trustee" or through
an unambiguous reference to the person's status as a candidate.

(B)
For the purposes of
this section, a person shall be considered to have made a disbursement if the
person has entered into a contract to make the disbursement.

(C)
Any person intending to make a
disbursement or disbursements for the direct costs of producing or airing
electioneering communications, prior to making the first disbursement for the
direct costs of producing or airing an electioneering communication, shall file
a notice with the office of the secretary of state that the person is intending
to make such disbursements.

(1)
Every person that makes a disbursement
or disbursements for the direct costs of producing and airing electioneering
communications aggregating in excess of ten thousand dollars during any
calendar year shall file, within twenty-four hours of each disclosure date, a
disclosure of electioneering communications statement containing the following
information:

(a)
The full name and address of
the person making the disbursement, of any person sharing or exercising
direction or control over the activities of the person making the disbursement,
and of the custodian of the books and accounts of the person making the
disbursement;

(b)
The principal
place of business of the person making the disbursement, if not an individual;

(c)
The amount of each disbursement
of more than one dollar during the period covered by the statement and the
identity of the person to whom the disbursement was made;

(d)
The nominations or elections to which the
electioneering communications pertain and the names, if known, of the
candidates identified or to be identified;

(e)
If the disbursements were paid out of a
segregated bank account that consists of funds contributed solely by
individuals who are United States citizens or nationals or lawfully admitted
for permanent residence as defined in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act directly to the account for electioneering communications, the
information specified in division (D)(2) of this section for all contributors
who contributed an aggregate amount of two hundred dollars or more to the
segregated bank account and whose contributions were used for making the
disbursement or disbursements required to be reported under division (D) of
this section during the period covered by the statement. Nothing in this
division prohibits or shall be construed to prohibit the use of funds in such a
segregated bank account for a purpose other than electioneering communications.

(f)
If the disbursements were paid
out of funds not described in division (D)(1)(e) of this section, the
information specified in division (D)(2) of this section for all contributors
who contributed an aggregate amount of two hundred dollars or more to the
person making the disbursement and whose contributions were used for making the
disbursement or disbursements required to be reported under division (D) of
this section during the period covered by the statement.

(2)
For each contributor for which
information is required to be reported under division (D)(1)(e) or (f) of this
section, all of the following shall be reported:

(a)
The month, day, and year that the
contributor made the contribution or contributions aggregating two hundred
dollars or more;

(i)
The full name and address of the
contributor, and, if the contributor is a political action committee, the
registration number assigned to the political action committee under division
(D)(1) of section
3517.10 of the Revised Code;

(ii)
If the contributor is an
individual, the name of the individual's current employer, if any, or, if the
individual is self-employed, the individual's occupation and the name of the
individual's business, if any;

(iii)
If the contribution is transmitted
pursuant to section
3599.031 of the Revised Code from
amounts deducted from the wages and salaries of two or more employees that
exceed in the aggregate one hundred dollars during the period specified in
division (D)(1)(e) or (f) of this section, as applicable, the full name of the
employees' employer and the full name of the labor organization of which the
employees are members, if any.

(3)
Subject to the secretary of state having
implemented, tested, and verified the successful operation of any system the
secretary of state prescribes pursuant to divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of
section 3517.10 and division (H)(1) of
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code for
the filing of campaign finance statements by electronic means of transmission,
a person shall file the disclosure of electioneering communications statement
prescribed under divisions (D)(1) and (2) of this section by electronic means
of transmission to the office of the secretary of state.

Within five business days after the secretary of state receives
a disclosure of electioneering communications statement under this division,
the secretary of state shall make available online to the public through the
internet, as provided in division (I) of section
3517.106 of the Revised Code, the
contribution and disbursement information in that statement.

If a filed disclosure of electioneering communications
statement is found to be incomplete or inaccurate after its examination for
completeness and accuracy pursuant to division (B)(3)(a) of section
3517.11 of the Revised Code, the
person shall file by electronic means of transmission to the office of the
secretary of state any addendum, amendment, or other correction to the
statement that provides the information necessary to complete or correct the
statement or, if required by the secretary of state under that division, an
amended statement.

Within five business days after the secretary of state receives
an addendum, amendment, or other correction to a disclosure of electioneering
communications statement or an amended statement by electronic means of
transmission under this division or division (B)(3)(a) of section
3517.11 of the Revised Code, the
secretary of state shall make the contribution and disbursement information in
the addendum, amendment, or other correction to the statement or amended
statement available online to the public through the internet as provided in
division (I) of section
3517.106 of the Revised Code.

(1)
Any person who makes a contribution for the
purpose of funding the direct costs of producing or airing an electioneering
communication under this section shall provide the person's full name and
address to the recipient of the contribution at the time the contribution is
made.

(2)
Any individual who
makes a contribution or contributions aggregating two hundred dollars or more
for the purpose of funding the direct costs of producing or airing an
electioneering communication under this section shall provide the name of the
individual's current employer, if any, or, if the individual is self-employed,
the individual's occupation and the name of the individual's business, if any,
to the recipient of the contribution at the time the contribution is made.

(F)
In each
electioneering communication, a statement shall appear or be presented in a
clear and conspicuous manner that does both of the following:

(1)
Clearly indicates that the electioneering
communication is not authorized by the candidate or the candidate's campaign
committee;

(2)
Clearly identifies
the person making the disbursement for the electioneering communication in
accordance with section
3517.20 of the Revised Code.

(G)
Any coordinated
electioneering communication is an in-kind contribution, subject to the
applicable contribution limits prescribed in section
3517.102 of the Revised Code, to
the candidate by the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of
producing or airing the communication.

(H)
No person shall make, during the thirty days
preceding a primary election or during the thirty days preceding a general
election, any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that refers to a
clearly identified candidate using any contributions received from a
corporation or labor organization.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.40, HB 194, §1 Made subject to referendum in the Nov. 6, 2012 election. The version of this section thus amended was repealed by 129th General AssemblyFile No.105, SB 295, §1, eff. 8/15/2012.